During a Senate Energy Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) spoke about the Trump administration's cuts to renewable energy.
00:00Mr. Chairman, welcome. Congratulations to all the nominees. Welcome to all of your family members.
00:06It's always fun to be here on the first day. It's the second or third day that we'll have
00:11conversations about. But thank you so much. I want to start off by talking a little bit about Nevada
00:17because Nevada has done an incredible job leaning into the potential for energy and particularly
00:24around solar, geothermal, hydro. I mean there's so much happening in Nevada right now and it is an
00:33example of what our future can be if we want to be energy independent including I want to say battery
00:38storage. Mr. Robertson, I invite you to come to Nevada to see what's happening with battery storage there
00:43because it is part of a base load and it's happening right now. My frustration is that unfortunately
00:50under this administration we're picking winners and losers and we are saying to states like
00:54Nevada based on our geography and our opportunities that even though solar is one of our number
01:02one commodities that we shouldn't even look at it anymore. And I think all of the above energy
01:09approach is should be based on what each state is capable of doing based on their geography their
01:15minerals whatever is available for them. And I'm here to tell you Nevada it really is around solar
01:22geothermal, hydro, and there's so much more happening there. But that's different than New England states.
01:27That's even different than Texas. So I'm not about picking winners and losers. I'm looking for a balanced
01:32approach here. And I'm just disappointed that this administration, some of my colleagues have
01:37gut and cut wind and solar and now are doing the same around battery storage, electric vehicles, and critical
01:45minerals. And we're going to talk about this because critical minerals are key to our technology future. And if we're not also
01:50leaning in and making sure that this country is capable of producing those critical minerals,
01:57we are going to be left behind in our energy independence as well as our national security.
02:03But I want to start with Ms. Robertson with you. According to recent projections from the U.S. Energy Information Administration,
02:10retail energy prices will continue to increase beyond 2026. And additional reports of SS that cuts to clean energy tax credits,
02:20like those made in the recently enacted GOP reconciliation law, could result in Americans paying as much as $110 more on their utility bills.
02:29And despite these increased energy rates, the administration has proposed to zero out crucial energy assistance programs in their fiscal year 26 budget,
02:41including EERE's energy grid integration program. And so I want to talk to you about that. Can you explain the benefits that cutting grid energy programs,
02:54or even energy assistance programs provides for Americans? I mean, is this where we should be going if we're looking at integrating our grid with all of the potential energy sources that are out there?
03:05And I appreciate your comments that there's trade-offs with all of them, but why pick winners and losers?
03:11Senator Cortez Masto, I don't believe in picking winners and losers. I do believe that energy is about science and energy is about numbers.
03:22And I don't have any feelings or belief structures around energy. They are equations. And delivering for the American people is going to require us to be thoughtful, tactical.
03:36It's going to lean into the science and try and advance some of the technologies that, frankly, Nevada's leading in.
03:42You have one of the leading geothermal potentials and existing share of your utility comes from geothermal.
03:48But for that reason, energy grid integration is so important. Wouldn't you agree?
03:53I agree with the importance. You asked a question specifically about the budget. It is very difficult for me to comment on how the budget's allocated, how it works today.
04:06I am not in the building. I'm still living in Colorado. This is not exactly an area that I have oversight or domain knowledge.
04:15But I do know that grid integration is a component of the Department of Energy across multiple departments, across multiple national labs.
04:25And it is a priority for the President. It's a priority for Secretary Wright.
04:30Because without the grid, we don't have energy distribution.
04:34Thank you. I've got about 30 seconds left and I want to just get this question in. The rest I will submit for the record. Thank you all for being here.
04:40But Mr. Walsh, it goes without saying, but timely and transparent communication is crucial to the success of DOE's environmental management program in Nevada.
04:51Welcome you to come out there and take a look at what's going on.
04:54If confirmed, do I have your commitment to prioritize an open relationship with myself, our state officials, on all DOE environmental management activities in Nevada?
05:05Yes, Senator Cortez Mastos.
05:08And will you pledge to uphold all existing agreements and contracts with the state of Nevada?
05:14Yes, as President Trump and Secretary Wright reinforce, we're not going to force nuclear waste on Nevada.
